


The Best Time I Can Remember

by SocialDegenerate



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-07 21:44:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14090301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SocialDegenerate/pseuds/SocialDegenerate
Summary: Ignis tends to overwork himself, so it's lucky that Gladio is looking out for him.“Hey, if you’re busy looking out for Noct, I’m happy to look out for you. Someone’s gotta make sure you stay safe.”“A true Shield,” Ignis murmured, and his glowing smile made up for how much Gladio was mentally kicking himself for not being able to restrain his tongue.





	The Best Time I Can Remember

**Author's Note:**

> I had this [idea](https://twitter.com/socialdegener8/status/975965777571454976) on twitter and then I decided that I had to write it.

“See you tomorrow,” Noctis said distractedly, not bothering to look up from where he was engrossed in texting Prompto. Gladio rolled his eyes and glanced at Ignis, but if he was concerned by Noctis’ lack of manners then he didn’t show it.

“Night,” Gladio said after a pause, nudging Ignis’ side when he apparently had nothing to add.

“Oh,” Ignis said, blinking rapidly. “Goodnight, Noct.”

Guiding Ignis out of the apartment, Gladio shut the door behind them and turned to Ignis, letting himself really look at the dark smudges underneath his unfocused eyes. “Did you drive yourself here today?”

“I did. Why?”

Frowning at the way Ignis barely stifled a yawn, Gladio wondered what exactly he’d been doing all day. “Because you look like you’re about to fall asleep on your feet, so there’s no way I’m letting you drive home. C’mon, I’ll give you a lift.”

“What? I’m fine,” Ignis said, even though he looked anything but. “I promise I’m entirely capable of getting home safely.”

“Yeah, I don’t buy it,” Gladio said with a shake of his head. “I’ll pick you up in the morning and bring you back.”

“I’m-”

“Humour me, Iggy.” Gladio interrupted, risking the briefest touch of his hand on the small of Ignis’ back to encourage him to start walking. Ignis’ easy obedience spoke to just how out of it he was, but despite the easy chance in front of him Gladio refused to let his hand linger. Instead, he tried his best to distract Ignis with casual conversation as they took the elevator down to the parking garage, hoping that Ignis wouldn’t notice Gladio steering him to the wrong car.

Still, Gladio was surprised when it actually _worked,_ Ignis only snapping out his daze when Gladio opened the passenger door and nudged him towards the seat. “Gladio, I told you, I’m fine.”

“You didn’t notice that we walked past your car back there,” Gladio pointed out, spinning his keyring around his finger and raising his eyebrows. Ignis sputtered for a moment, trying and failing to come up with something to say, but he still held his head regally high as he gave up and slid into Gladio’s front seat.

“Do I need to activate the child lock?” Gladio joked when he entered the car himself, earning himself an eye roll as Ignis fumbled a little with the seatbelt.

“Why? Afraid you’ll try and escape from your own car?” Ignis mumbled, his head lolling against the cool window. Glancing sideways, Gladio thought that his eyes seemed to be closed, and it felt like a show of trust from someone who usually hated giving up control of a rolling deathtrap. Of course, it was probably just that Ignis was too tired to care, but it put a stupidly affectionate smile on Gladio’s face anyway.

“Not your best work, Iggy,” Gladio said. Taking one last look at Ignis, he started the car and turned the stereo way down, not wanting to disturb Ignis if he was going to try to sleep. He’d never really put much thought into how quietly and smoothly his car ran, but now he was feeling more than a little grateful for his own foresight as Ignis practically melted against the car door.

The first few blocks passed in silence, and Gladio had assumed that Ignis was asleep when he suddenly spoke, not lifting his head from where it was still pressed against the window. “I’m sorry for putting you out like this.”

“Hmm? It’s cool, Iggy. A bit of a drive is worth making sure you live to overwork yourself another day.”

Ignis gave a tiny, sleepy laugh that made Gladio’s heart pound in his chest, warmth filling him as he tried his best to concentrate on the road ahead of him. It was late enough that traffic was as light as it ever got, but he didn’t think it would be fun to explain that he caused an accident because Ignis was busy being gorgeously adorable and unguarded in his passenger seat.

“Still, I’m sorry. Between my university coursework and my actual work, I’m perhaps being stretched a little thin.”

It was utterly unlike Ignis to ever admit to having a normal human weakness, and Gladio’s hand twitched on the steering wheel as he stopped himself from reaching across to give Ignis a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “You thought about asking Regis to get Noct someone to do all the little shit you do for him? Give yourself some breathing room?”

“Absolutely not,” Ignis muttered, and Gladio thought it might have sounded angry had Ignis not been too exhausted for emotional outbursts. “I can do it.”

“I’ve got no doubt about that,” Gladio said. “Might still be worth looking into, though.”

When Ignis didn’t reply, Gladio wondered if he’d gone too far. He hadn’t meant to imply that he thought Ignis was incapable: if anything, he was a little _too_ capable, and it led to him being given more work than he should have been.

“Sorry, Iggy. I’m looking out for your health, y’know?”

There was still no reply, and when Gladio pulled up at a red light he leaned over to get a good look at Ignis’ face. The lack of a reaction told him that Ignis had fallen asleep, and Gladio fondly shook his head as he sat back in his seat and waited for the light to turn green.

Ignis’ work ethic was admirable, but Gladio hated seeing the dark circles under his eyes and the stress lines on his face. The useless romantic in him wanted to run his fingers across them and see if he could kiss them away, but Ignis had never reacted to his tentative flirtation with anything other than vague amusement.

It wasn’t worth adding more stress to Ignis’ life when he had no proof that Ignis might actually like him back, so Gladio forced himself to be content with showing _friendly concern._ It was enough for him to be able to spend at least a little time with Ignis almost every day, and to be able to sling a friendly arm around Ignis’ shoulder and gently tease him.

It _had_ to be enough.

Ignis didn’t stir for the remainder of the drive, Gladio occasionally stealing quick peeks at the man curled up in his passenger seat. Ignis was always the first one awake and the last one to bed, which made seeing him so vulnerable a rare occasion. A protective urge swelled up in Gladio’s chest, the kind he otherwise only got around Noct and Iris, and he swallowed hard as Ignis’ building came into sight.

It felt unbearably rude to reach over and gently shake Ignis’ shoulder once the car had come to a stop, Gladio biting his lip when Ignis slowly lifted his head and blinked. His glasses were sitting crooked on his face, knocked askew by his awkward sleeping position, and before he knew it Gladio set them back into place. He snatched his hands back once he realised what he’d done, but Ignis simply touched one of the frame arms with his fingertips and slightly bowed his head.

“Sorry for not being much of a conversationalist tonight,” Ignis said, folding his hands in his lap. “Thank you for driving me, I didn’t realise how tired I was.”

“Hey, if you’re busy looking out for Noct, I’m happy to look out for you. Someone’s gotta make sure you stay safe.”

“A true Shield,” Ignis murmured, and his glowing smile made up for how much Gladio was mentally kicking himself for not being able to restrain his tongue. “I can take the train to Noct’s tomorrow, so you don’t need to put yourself out.”

“No way, that takes forever. I wouldn’t let you drive so it’s my job to get you back. I’ll see you at eight, okay?”

“...Okay,” Ignis relented, picking his bag up from the footwell and opening the door. It was then that he remembered he was still wearing his seatbelt, and Gladio covered his mouth to hide his smile as Ignis got progressively more flustered. Once he was free, Ignis swept a hand over his deflated hair and took a deep breath, finally stepping out of the car.

Before he closed the door, he leaned down and graced Gladio with another soft smile that was abruptly ruined by a yawn. “Goodnight, Gladio, and thanks again. Drive safely.”

“See you tomorrow. And make sure you get some rest.”

“I will,” Ignis smiled, closing the door. Gladio waited until he’d entered the building to pull away, a smile still on his face as he drove towards his own apartment. Seeing such an unguarded Ignis was a rare treat, and Gladio was determined to cling onto the memory for as long as he possibly could.

Between the road ahead of him and the thoughts running through his mind, it took Gladio a few moments to process the strange buzzing noise that started as he turned into a quiet back street. His initial thought was that it was his phone, but he could feel it sitting motionless in his pocket; a little concerned that something was wrong with his car, Gladio pulled to the side of the road and tried to follow the noise.

It seemed to be coming from underneath the seat, and Gladio had to undo his seatbelt so that he could lean over and shove his hand between the passenger seat and the door. Awkwardly feeling around, he grinned triumphantly when his fingers brushed against something that was persistently vibrating.

The sound lessened when Gladio pulled what now seemed to be a phone away from the metal bracketing under the seat, lifting it up into the light as it continued to vibrate quietly in his hand. He vaguely recognised the purple and silver phone wallet as belonging to Ignis, although it wasn’t the phone that he tended to see Ignis using: while he was practically glued to his work phone, his personal phone didn’t tend to see quite as much use.

Gladio had once asked him why he even bothered with two phones, only to be caught off-guard when Ignis fondly informed him that he liked to enjoy their conversations without having to think about work.

Now that he thought about it, Gladio wondered if that very moment had been when he’d truly become aware of his feelings for Ignis. There’d been no reasonable explanation for why Ignis’ soft voice and tiny smile had made his heart beat so fast, and Gladio had been forced to confront something he’d been steadfastly ignoring.

The phone in his hand went still, starting up again a moment later; as reluctant as he was to invade Ignis’ privacy, Gladio flipped open the case and took a look at the screen. The caller ID informed him that the call was coming in from ‘Work Phone’, and Gladio grimaced as he imagined Ignis pacing around his apartment, trying to locate his phone from the sound of it vibrating.

Wanting to reassure Ignis that his phone was safe, Gladio pressed the accept button only to find himself faced with Ignis’ unlock code screen. He supposed it made sense for someone in such a sensitive position to block randoms from being able to answer his calls, but there was no way that Gladio was willing to guess Ignis’ code and potentially lock him out.

Closing the code screen, Gladio rejected the call and dug into his pocket for his own phone, watching as the call screen faded back to Ignis’ normal lock screen. He nearly fumbled his own phone when he got a good look at the wallpaper, though: of all the things he’d expected to see Ignis using as his background, a photo of _himself_ hadn’t been one of them.

Well, technically it wasn’t strictly a photo of himself, considering that Ignis’ own face was right there alongside Gladio’s, but _still._

It took Gladio a long moment to remember when the photo had even been taken, alcohol-soaked memories slowly falling into place as he recalled a night out with just the two of them, celebrating the end of another semester. A drunken Ignis had been adamant that they capture the memory with a photo, and Gladio remembered being completely caught off guard when Ignis had walked around their table and practically dropped himself in Gladio’s lap.

It had barely been for more than a few seconds and the memory had been largely chased away by his subsequent hangover, but now that he was thinking about it Gladio could almost perfectly recall the weight of Ignis’ body, the warmth of his skin, and the attractive smell of his cologne.

Swallowing hard, Gladio took a closer look at the picture, pressing the button to light up the screen again when it went dark from inactivity. His inhibitions loosened by booze, it had been _so_ difficult for Gladio to resist wrapping his arms around Ignis’ slim waist and pulling him properly into his lap, and to stop himself from tilting Ignis’ face towards him and pressing their lips together.

The photo proved that they’d been so close that it wouldn’t have even taken any effort to reach Ignis’ lips, and Gladio’s breath caught as he managed to look away from Ignis’ alcohol-reddened cheeks and mid-laugh grin to take a better look at himself.

He wasn’t even looking at the camera, his eyes fixed firmly on the beautiful face of the man beside him, his expression somehow awed and fond all at once. He felt a tiny pang at the sight of his unscarred face, but that was a trivial concern when every single emotion he felt for Ignis was so plainly written across his face.

There was no way Ignis could have missed that, right? The photo was his lockscreen, so he had to see it multiple times a day, _every_ day. Maybe he was fool, but that felt like the kind of sign that he’d spent so long hoping to get from Ignis.

Staring blankly at the photo, Gladio jumped when his own forgotten phone began to vibrate in his hand, Ignis’ name splashed across the screen.

“Gladio!” Ignis said as soon as Gladio accepted the call. “Is my phone in your car? I’m afraid it might have slipped out of my pocket.”

“Yeah, I got it,” Gladio said, smiling at Ignis’ relieved sigh. “Was about to call you.”

“My saviour,” Ignis said with a laugh.

“Want me to bring it back now?” Shifting in his seat, Gladio mentally calculated how long it would take for him to get back to Ignis’, not that it mattered: he’d never turn down a chance to see Ignis.

“No, no, it’s fine, my work phone will be enough for one night. Hold onto it for me?”

“Can do,” Gladio confirmed gravely, enjoying the way it made Ignis laugh. “By the way…”

“Yes?”

Biting the bullet, Gladio took a deep breath and blurted out, “Nice lock screen wallpaper.”

“Oh,” Ignis stammered. “I’m sorry, I should have asked if it was alright. It’s just a really nice photo of you and me.”

Gladio wondered if he’d imagined the tiny pause after the word ‘you’, as if Ignis hadn’t been talking about himself at all. It was the kind of stupid mistake he’d made himself, so there was a chance he was projecting; but if not…

“It’s totally cool. I’m actually kinda flattered that you want to look at my face so much.” It felt a little unfair to prod for information when Ignis was obviously more candid due to his exhaustion, but he sounded more normal than he had in the car, his short nap obviously having done him some good.

“I like seeing your face,” Ignis said, and then he inhaled sharply. “I mean, I, uh-”

“Ignis,” Gladio interrupted, nervously licking his lips as he lit up the screen of Ignis’ phone again, the open emotion on his own frozen face filling him with courage. “I like seeing your face, too.”

“Oh,” was all Ignis apparently had to say, and the pair of them lapsed into silence as they considered the situation.

“Look-”

“I-”

Gladio burst into laughter at the awkward interruptions, hearing Ignis give a quieter laugh on the other end of the call. “Go ahead, Iggy.”

“I thought I was imagining the way you’re looking at me. In the picture, I mean.”

“Thought I might have been checking out some gorgeous lady standing behind you?” Gladio joked, earning himself a sigh.

“Something like that.” Ignis sounded vaguely sad, so Gladio rushed to reassure him.

“You’re not imagining anything, Ignis. I remember thinking about how stunning you were and wondering how you’d react if I kissed you.” If Ignis was being so honest with him, it felt important for Gladio to do the same.

“And now?”

“Hmm?”

“You used past tense,” Ignis pointed out. “Was it a- a passing fancy?”

“No,” Gladio said. He wanted to add to it, to wipe away Ignis’ worries, but he didn’t want to leave any room for doubt. It was impossible for Ignis to misinterpret such a simple statement, and he heard Ignis’ breath leave him in a rush.

“So you…”

“I liked you a lot then, and I like you even more now.” The confession felt like a weight coming off his shoulders, and Gladio let his head rest back against the top of his seat. It was out there now, and there was nothing he could do to take it back.

The rest was up to Ignis.

“Gladio,” Ignis said, obviously hesitating. “When you come over to collect me tomorrow, do you think...maybe...we could go out for breakfast?”

“You asking me on a date?”

“I suppose I am.”

“I’d love to.” His grin stretching so wide that his cheeks hurt, Gladio came down from his high when Ignis suddenly yawned, reminding Gladio of how tired he’d been. He wanted to talk to Ignis all night, to let Ignis accompany him on his drive home, but his own wants were second to Ignis’ needs. “You should get some sleep, we can talk more tomorrow.”

“That would be a smart idea,” Ignis said, his obvious reluctance making Gladio feel warm inside. “Text me when you get home so I know you’re safe.”

“I will. Goodnight, Iggy.”

“Goodnight, Gladio.” There was a moment of awkward silence as they both obviously resisted the idea of cutting the call, one that only ended when Ignis whispered another goodnight and finally cut the connection. Slowly lowering his phone away from his ear, Gladio tucked it away and laughed breathlessly as he put his seatbelt back on and started the car again.

Sitting Ignis’ phone on the seat beside him, he woke the screen up one more time to look at the wallpaper, wishing he could go back in time and tell his younger, unscarred self to stop worrying and _go for it._

Staring at the picture until the screen faded to black, Gladio hit his blinker and pulled out into the street, already thinking about all the places he could take Ignis and the things they could do.

Not that the details were all that important. He didn’t exactly care _what_ they did, as long as Ignis was right there with him.

**Author's Note:**

> Come see me on [Tumblr](http://socialdegenerate.tumblr.com) or [Twitter](http://twitter.com/socialdegener8)


End file.
